Feel the fear and do it anyway<\/h3>\n
![\"fear.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog\/2017\/03\/fear.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
However, if you speak to anyone who\u2019s actually done cold calling long enough to get past the initial fear (which doesn\u2019t take long at all), they will tell you that while you can run into the occasional rude person, most folks are actually quite pleasant\u2014even if they aren\u2019t necessarily interested in what you\u2019re offering.<\/p>\n
Cold calling for MSPs doesn\u2019t have to be uncomfortable at all. And if you give yourself the chance to discover this, you\u2019ll find that the results you can achieve can be quite astounding.<\/p>\n
5 steps to get the most out of cold calling<\/h3>\n
All it takes is keeping in mind five basic strategies:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Don\u2019t sell<\/strong>When you pick up the phone to cold call a local business owner, you are simply calling to let them know of a service you offer which may benefit them.Your goal when making a call isn\u2019t to twist someone\u2019s arm into hearing you out or to talk until you’re blue in the face trying to convince this prospect why you\u2019re so fantastic. Your goal isn\u2019t even to try to make a sale.\n
The goal of your initial cold call is simply to introduce yourself and determine if there\u2019s enough interest from the prospect to continue the conversation or set an appointment for a later discussion.<\/p>\n
If this person has any frustration with computer problems, there\u2019s a good chance they\u2019ll want to continue speaking with you. If this person isn\u2019t 100% satisfied with his or her current consultant, they\u2019ll speak with you. If they have someone in-house but are considering outsourcing their IT, they\u2019ll speak with you.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s an interest, the sales process will continue.<\/p>\n
If not, at the end of the call it\u2019s a good idea to ask their permission to stay in touch\u2014would they mind if you sent them an occasional email that they\u2019d find valuable, for instance. You can then continue the conversation another time, and base it on the information you\u2019ve already gathered.<\/p>\n
If they say no, you simply thank them, tell them to have a nice day, and move on. If they\u2019re not interested then you should not waste time trying to convince them about anything you have to offer. You only want to spend time talking to prospects who want to speak with you. They\u2019re out there. Just keep calling and you\u2019ll find them.<\/li>\n
- Call properly targeted prospects<\/strong>If you want a better shot at finding prospects who are interested in speaking with you, start by identifying the types of clients you want to serve. What size of company? What vertical industries? What geographical locations?A computer consultant cold calling an owner of a small accounting firm will have a much better chance of engaging in a conversation if he can specify that he\u2019s a computer consultant specializing in supporting accounting firms with fewer than 50 employees and happens to be located just a few blocks away.\n
The best way to find highly targeted prospects is by acquiring a good list. You can purchase a list from many reputable list providers.<\/li>\n
- Cold calling prospects who are pre-sold<\/strong>Wouldn\u2019t it be great if you could cold call a prospect and before they ever answered the phone they already knew about your service, knew exactly how it could benefit them, and knew their interest level in speaking with you further?\n
This is very easily accomplished if you send a well written sales letter prior to making your first cold call.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s stick with the example that you service accountants. You send local accountants a sales letter that describes the services you provide and nicely details all of the great benefits they\u2019ll receive when using your services. If the accountant reading this letter has a potential need then perhaps he’ll call you, or perhaps not.<\/p>\n
But when you follow-up with your phone call a day or two later\u2026 they already know who you are. They know what you\u2019re offering. And they know whether or not they are interested in speaking with you further.<\/p>\n
So your follow-up phone call is a very simple, pressure-free one. You should quickly get to a response of either \u201cLet\u2019s talk\u201d or \u201cNo, thank you.\u201d Either way, your call moves along very efficiently.<\/li>\n
- Be honest and ask permission<\/strong>How many times have you been cold called and the caller has said, \u201cDon\u2019t worry, this isn\u2019t a sales call,\u201d before they talk continuously and try to sell you something? How much do you trust that caller, and how quickly do you look for an opportunity to get them off the phone?\n
Don\u2019t be that person.\u00a0Try to be honest in your cold call\u00a0and ask for permission to talk to them\u2014people are much more receptive when you\u2019re upfront and you set their expectations correctly.<\/p>\n
Most people will happily give you their permission to take 20 seconds of their time knowing that you\u2019ve given them full permission to end the call afterwards. You’ll find that at the end of those 20 seconds a\u00a0lot of people are happy enough to talk to you a bit more!<\/li>\n
- Ask open questions<\/strong>When asking questions, try to avoid those that involve black and white, yes\/no answers. Instead ask for their response based on a scale of 1-10.\n
Using the right words\u00a0allows your prospect to more easily answer your questions and feel less pressured.<\/p>\n
For instance, instead of asking a prospect \u201cAre you happy with your existing IT support provider?\u201d ask \u201cOn a scale of 1-10, how happy are you with your current IT support provider?\u201d<\/p>\n
Typically, an 8-10 score means they are genuinely happy. But a score of 7 or below means there is definitely room for improvement. You can then ask further questions to understand why they aren\u2019t as happy as they might be.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Preparing for your cold call<\/h3>\n
![\"list.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/blog\/2017\/03\/list.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
So now you\u2019ve got yourself in the right mindset to do your cold calls, what else do you need?<\/p>\nThere are two things essentially that you need for an effective cold calling campaign: first, as mentioned above, a list of potential clients; and second, a good script.<\/p>\n
Getting a list of cold call prospects<\/h3>\n
Getting a list of highly targeted prospective customers can be quite expensive, and there are plenty of reputable providers that will be glad to help you out… for a price. But you don’t need to spend much money at all, as long as you’re willing to spend a bit more\u00a0time<\/em>\u00a0collecting your prospecting information.<\/p>\n
You can visit a website such as\u00a0manta.com<\/a>, which provides free prospecting lists. However, you cannot export the lists, so the copy-and-paste process of collecting the information can be quite time consuming.<\/p>\n
Another free technique that works well is simply doing a Google search for the industry you’re targeting, plus your zip code. For example:\u00a0law firm 10010<\/em>. Assuming you live in a fairly populated area, you should easily find hundreds of potential client listings that include contact names, complete addresses, and phone numbers (plus, additional information that will give you a pretty good idea of how attractive the company might be as a client).<\/p>\n
Putting together an MSP cold calling script<\/h3>\n
Putting your script together might be a challenge if you’ve never done any selling… and it’s a bit of a bigger subject than can be covered in a short article.<\/p>\n
However, the primary focus of your MSP cold calling script MUST be to focus exclusively on your prospects\u2019 wants and needs. Find out where their pain points are and what problems they want resolved\u2026 ask them. Do NOT go on and on about how great of a computer consultant you are. Don’t be offended, but no one cares.<\/p>\n
To get you started, a good opening line could be:<\/p>\n
\u201cHi\u00a0prospect\u2019s name? This is Robert. I\u2019m a computer consultant located a few blocks from you. I was just calling around letting some of my fellow local business owners know about our service and seeing if there might be a need\u2026 I was wondering if you have computers that you need to maintain and if you might be interested in getting them to operate more reliably.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
Once you invite a response, people want to talk about themselves. Ask questions about their environment, let them open up and they’ll give you the cues about what their needs are and how you can help them.<\/p>\n
Cold calling as an IT Marketing technique can be scary if you’ve never attempted it before. But if you allow yourself to break out of your comfort zone for just a little bit, you’ll find you’re capable of a whole lot more than you might realize. And the rewards are truly worthy of the challenge.<\/p>\n
Cold calling: quick, cheap and effective<\/h3>\n
By preparing yourself and using the techniques above, your cold calls should be more fruitful.<\/p>\n
By being honest with your caller and asking their permission upfront, you build trust to start conversations.<\/p>\n
And by not selling to your callers, but focusing on gathering information, you\u2019ll gain permission to continue the conversation through an appointment or a follow-up call.<\/p>\n
However, the most important guideline when implementing cold calling as part of your marketing strategy is to remain persistent! There ARE potential new clients out there who are in need of your services right now, and they will be glad you\u2019ve reached out to them. But you\u2019ll never find them unless you keep calling!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Additional reading<\/strong><\/p>\n
- \n
- MSP Content Marketing Guide<\/a><\/li>\n
- Direct mail: still a powerful marketing tool for MSPs<\/a><\/li>\n
- MSPs: How to Build a Referral Program<\/a><\/li>\n
- Four ways to effectively follow-up from business networking<\/a><\/li>\n
- Do your clients know about all the services you offer?<\/a><\/li>\n
- Six tips that will make managin your MSP company easier<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
- Direct mail: still a powerful marketing tool for MSPs<\/a><\/li>\n
- Call properly targeted prospects<\/strong>If you want a better shot at finding prospects who are interested in speaking with you, start by identifying the types of clients you want to serve. What size of company? What vertical industries? What geographical locations?A computer consultant cold calling an owner of a small accounting firm will have a much better chance of engaging in a conversation if he can specify that he\u2019s a computer consultant specializing in supporting accounting firms with fewer than 50 employees and happens to be located just a few blocks away.\n